


Let the Fire Breath Me Back to Life

by LeoValdezIsHot



Series: Human!Festus AU [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Gen, Human!Festus, Implied Relationships, LITERALLY, Leo Valdez Needs a Hug, M/M, Master/Pet, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant - The Burning Maze (Trials of Apollo), Post-The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus), This is actually meant to be taken seriously, To Be Continued
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:48:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28361949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeoValdezIsHot/pseuds/LeoValdezIsHot
Summary: After Jason's death, Leo falls into a deep depression.His boyfriend, the person he'd loved the most, is gone.Festus can't stand to see his master suffer, so he goes to Apollo, who's known for granting creatures wishes and begs to be able to comfort Leo.
Relationships: Festus & Leo Valdez, Festus/Leo Valdez, Past Leo Valdez/Jason Grace
Series: Human!Festus AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2077083
Kudos: 9





	Let the Fire Breath Me Back to Life

**Author's Note:**

> Oh boy, this is probably the weirdest story I've written yet.  
> Wait, no I take that back, I've written a Brason Oneshot recently…  
> So yeah, this story is NOT meant to be crack even though it may seem like that.  
> Can be read as platonic or romantic.  
> Yes.  
> This is going to be a series, because I like the concept not gonna lie.  
> I've also written this a few weeks ago, found it again and decided to post it without checking it first, so there may be a few mistakes.  
> I hope you'll enjoy it.  
> Forgive me if there are story related mistakes, same with my other HoO stories, it's been like five years since I read the series, lol.

Leo buried his face deep in his pillow, sighing heavily.  
Five months had passed since Jason had died, protecting Camp Half - Blood from a deadly, poisonous monster that had suddenly appeared there.  
Leo hadn't been there when it had happened, and perhaps that was for the better.  
If he'd seen Jason die, he would have probably broken down even more than he already did.  
He knew that Jason had been able to destroy the monster, but it had poisoned him in the process and help arrived too late.  
The Latino had screamed at Will who had failed to save him, but deep down he knew that it wasn't his fault.  
It was no one's fault.  
It was simply a terrible, terrible accident.

Suddenly, a knock on the Hephaestusʼ cabin's door alerted him and he raised his head.  
His eyes took a while to get used to the dark, but then he realized that all his siblings were fast asleep.  
Who wanted to pay them a visit in the middle of the night?  
Very quietly, to not wake the others up, he crept towards the door on toe tips and slowly opened it, praying that it wasn't some kind of dangerous monster that had learned how to knock.  
A boy Leo had never seen before was standing in front of the door, his fluffy, bronze coloured hair standing on end and his bright golden eyes wide open in wonder.  
Leo blinked a few times.  
He'd never seen eyes like these and if he remembered correctly from his biology lessons, then golden wasn't even a possible eye colour for humans.  
The boy was wearing a plain white shirt and gray pants and he was smiling shyly at Leo.  
“Ummm… hi,” he said, his voice as sweet as honey.  
Somehow, he seemed familiar to Leo but the Latino didn't know from where he should know him.  
He furrowed his brow, leaning against the door frame in case the boy was trying to storm into the cabin and attack his peacefully sleeping siblings.  
“Who are you? And what are you doing here?,” Leo asked, his voice filled with distrust.  
The boy cocked his head to one side, still smiling.  
“Oh come on, you know me, Leo!”  
Leo narrowed his eyes, staring at the boy.  
His hair was bronze, he knew that exact bronze colour from somewhere else…  
No, this couldn't be.  
It was impossible!  
Either Leo was still dreaming or the boy was trying to fool him.  
And how did he know his name?  
The strange boy's smile fell.  
“You really don't recognize me?,” his voice so sad that Leo almost felt bad for him.  
“No. Sorry, but I can't help you. Now let me sleep.”  
He tried to close the door, but the boy pushed it open with more strength than Leo had believed he was capable of.  
“No master, wait! It's me, Festus!”

Leo stared at him, eyes wide open in disbelief.  
Yes, the boy's hair bore an uncanny resemblance to Festusʼ body, but it couldn't be.  
Festus was a mechanical dragon, he couldn't just turn into a human.  
He was able to do a lot of things, he saved Leo's life after he'd died fighting Gaea after all.  
But becoming a human?  
No.  
Leo couldn't believe that.  
“Please Leo, believe me!,” the boy with the bronze hair begged, staring at Leo with wide, pleading eyes.  
“Since – since Jason died you're so sad and nobody can seem to cheer you up.  
I hate seeing you like that.  
I wanted to be there for you, but as a dragon I knew I wasn't much help, even though we could communicate with each other…  
I didn't want to see you suffer you so much, so I seeked out Apollo.  
He's known for granting people and creatures wishes, I don't know if it's because he's nice or bored, but he does it, and so I went to him and asked him to turn me into a human.  
And… well, it worked. I'm here now. I want to make you feel happy, master, like I was when you were spending time with me.  
I want to repay you for being so nice to me.”  
He looked at Leo with expectant eyes.  
The son of Hephaestus gulped heavily.  
The boy had talked very quickly and Leo's brain was working slowly because of sleeplessness, but if he was telling the truth…  
“Is…is it really you, Festus?”  
“Yes. I'm not lying, you know?,” smiling, he leaned forward and touched Leo's shoulder.  
“You rebuilt me after I was destroyed, you…you were the only real friend I had after Beckendorf died. I always wanted to become a human, and now I had a real reason to do that.  
I know that being a human will be hard, I have to learn a lot of stuff and I'm not even sure of I'm allowed to stay here since…you know, I'm not a demigod.  
But I think it's worth it.”  
Festus looked at the ground, his cheeks becoming pink.  
“And, umm… I really like you, master.”  
Leo was convinced that Festus was telling the truth.  
It was really him.  
The mechanic dragon he'd repaired.  
His pet who'd always been there for him.  
His friend who had saved his life.  
Carefully, he put one of Festusʼ loose bronze streaks back behind his ear.  
“Don't call me master,” he said softly.  
“It's just Leo. We're equals now.”  
Leo buried his face in Festusʼ chest, since his friend was a little taller than he was.  
“Don't leave me, please. Don't ever leave me,” he whispered, holding Festus so tightly that the former dragon feared that he'd suffocate.  
“Don't worry. I won't go, Leo. Never.”


End file.
